Adventures in Theia

A BRP/Magic World campaign of swords & sorcery in an antediluvian world

Spelunking continued

Part 2: Naked this time

12

MAR/17

The larger enemy cast the area into magical darkness and the small men got there act together. Under cover of darkness they swarmed both Bros and Domhnall. Overpowered by weight of numbers, they were rendered unconscious. Some time later, the trio awoke to darkness, naked and bound. Freeing themselves didn’t prove difficult, but greater travails lay ahead. They felt around in the darkness and discovered a number of stone sarcophagi. One was sealed and the rest long since plundered, yielding nothing of use but a femur. A wall sconce provided a torch, but no means to light it, save magic. They decided against that as Maslorias’ reserves were still depleted.

Unsure of how to proceed, they let curiosity get the better of them. Working together they managed to unseal the remaining sarcophagus. Inside, to their surprise, they found stairs rather than a body. Bros took the femur as a club, and descended the mystery stairs. Reaching the bottom, Bros was greeted by horrific sounds and footsteps from the gloom. Bros raced up the stairs and called for help. Calling on the sphere of fire and glyph of creation, Maslorias lit the torch. Finally able to see again, he and Domhnall watch as Bros tumbles out of the sarcophagus followed by two ghouls. With bone club, fist, and conjured flame, the three naked adventurers put down the ghouls for the price of a few scratches and a now useless finger. Domhnall had thrown an errant punch and hit the sarcophagus.

Now possessing a source of light, the three naked adventurers descend the hidden stairs. Below they found a strange pillared crypt. Doors appeared to be etched into the pillars with unreadable flowing script above them. The ghouls had cached the bones and belongings of long dead grave robbers in corners. A hard leather armor fit Maslorias who also took up a serviceable pack, there was a short sword for Bros, while Domhnall received the trusty femur. In the northwest corner, they found two large double doors tied shut with gold cord. Beyond them lay a long, mirror lined corridor. A similar set of doors at the far end wouldn’t budge. Checking the mirrors, they found three that swung out. The east-side mirror closest to the entrance, led to a funeral chamber. Set into the floor was a pane of green glass, covering a richly dressed, sword holding man that resembled a Hyperborean, but with some differences. Domhnall noticed a slight movement below the glass, leading them to believe there was a green gas below the glass. Leaving the body and it’s presumably poison gas, they checked the east-side mirror closer to the sealed door that proved to be beetle infested. The west-side mirror led to a chamber similar to the first. This one, however, had been looted. The glass in the floor was broken, two withered corpses, faces twisted in pain, lay on the floor, and a not quite Hyperborean woman’s body lay in the floor with an ornate scepter. Checking the body and beneath it, Bros and Maslorias opened a cavity below the body releasing a white gas that blinded them. Again unable to see, they fumbled around for the scepter and a ebony heart from the cavity while retreating to the hallway.

Domnhall led the two blind men back up the stairs and started looking for a way out. They came upon a pool of clean water, but washing out their eyes didn’t restore their sight. Shortly thereafter, Domhnall led them to the site of their earlier battle with the Woodwoes. Strangely, their foes bodies had been stripped of all cloth and furs. Exiting the cave they looked for, but were unable to find Judoc, Liannan, or the horses. Defeated for the time being, the group retreated to the bandit’s cave to lick their wounds. After resting, Maslorias was able to neutralize the poison blinding himself and Bros with Deep Magic. Sight restored, wounds treated, and wearing dead men’s gear, they pondered what to do next. Judoc and Liannon had not returned, and they had no food, so they decided to brave the cave once more in search of their missing gear. A more thorough search revealed an alchemy area and some notes which shed some light on the recent goings on. Further delving revealed a carved stalagmite and magical formation of stones. Other things of note were a suit of bronze scale mail that fit Maslorias well in a mound of rubbish and a keyhole on an island in the underground pool, and a fast flowing river. The latter, Bros slipped and fell into. Domhnall, overestimated his athletic prowess, jumped into the river trying to leap to the other side. Luckily Maslorias was able to throw them a line. Wet, they retreated to the alchemy lab to consider their next move.